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Meet the scientists!

About the Body Zone

In this zone we’ll talk about the body and health, particularly the causes of obesity or being underweight, the health effects on our bodies, and ultimately the effects obesity has on society. There are scientists trying to understand and cope with these problems from different perspectives:

How healthy is fast food? | Image via Evan Amos / Wikimedia

Psychologists research how our behaviour can affect how healthy we are. Dietitians help us make informed real-world choices about our lifestyle and the food we eat, to keep ourselves healthy. Physiologists look at changes in the human body during obesity related diseases like diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancer.

In this zone we’ll meet five of those scientists helping trying to understand the causes and consequences of being overweight and how we can deal with them. There is one scientist looking at how exercise activates genes and proteins to make muscle bigger, stronger and more resistant to fatigue. There is a scientist working out how a special type of chocolates can reduce heart disease risk in people with diabetes by making arteries healthier. There are scientists trying to understand how exercise activates genes and proteins to make our muscles bigger and stronger, scientists looking at how obesity during pregnancy can affect child’s health. There are also scientists researching if our body shape can be related to obesity, and scientists looking at how we can use smartphones and physical activity apps to be more active and reduce obesity.